


Sanders Sides One-Shots

by littleballofsunshyne



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst and Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Fluff, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Sympathetic Dark Sides (Sanders Sides), Teasing, Thomas Sanders References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:47:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27233725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleballofsunshyne/pseuds/littleballofsunshyne
Summary: Welcome to my first one-shots collection: Sanders Sides addition! A lot of drama and fluff. All works are platonic but you can view as shippy if you'd like. A lot of family bonding and angst. Many adventures and sympathetic sides. Just a bunch of one-shots to make you smile after reading too much angst. Please enjoy!
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

I decided it would be easier to combine all my one-shots into one space, so you can bookmark it if you're interested to see more content. I hope this is easier for everyone to enjoy my work!


	2. Just Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman really loves it, Virgil secretly loves it, Patton is naturally good at it, and Logan tries too hard to to be good at it

The sides were bored in the mind palace, Patton could tell. They needed something to do. Logan had solved and unsolved the same Rubix cube about 47 times now, Roman was over critiquing every selfie he took and was getting very frustrated with himself about it, and Patton couldn’t remember the last time he saw Virgil step out of his room. He himself had baked five batches of chocolate chip cookies and didn’t even want to eat any. That’s how he knew there was a problem. But what could they do? Then the idea sparked. A fond childhood memory that had given him this idea. To give them as much time as he could he decided to use a premade lasagna that he had made the night before while he was bored. Excited to have fun again, Patton basically threw the lasagna in the oven to bake.  
“Virgil, come downstairs!” Patton called “Roman, Logan, come to the living room.”  
Roman and Logan looked at each other, giving each other a whatever’s-about-to-happen-is-gonna-end-badly-but-I'm-too-bored-to-worry look and went to Patton. Roman huffed.  
“Well it’s not like it could get any worse for me, my selfie game is at an all-time low!”  
Virgil thumped down the stairs and the other sides audibly gasped. Virgil looked terrible! His hair was sprawled in every direction and full of knots. His under eyes were so dark it looked like he was wearing his eyeshadow and his eyes looked so distant and lost. Logan muttered to himself but the others could hear what he said.  
“And this is why we limit our screen time.”  
Roman smiled.  
“Hey Virge, long time no see?”  
Virgil simply rolled his eyes and looked at Patton, wondering what he needed him for. Patton cleared his throat, slight fear laced through his voice triggered from the look of Virgil. He hoped this was a good idea and that the others wouldn’t shut it down quickly.  
“Well, you see, I’m really bored and I know you guys are too so I thought we could do something together and have a little fun. So…” Patton ran to the T.V. and picked up a Wii game. He spun around and revealed it to the others, it was Just Dance. “Ta-da!”  
Roman jumped in excitement and grabbed the game from Patton's hands, examining the cover and reading the back.  
“Just Dance! I loved that game, I forgot it existed!”  
Logan started to back away.  
“Nope, no, never going to happen. I am not participating in a childish game like this. It is silly and too unpredictable.”  
Virgil joined Logan.  
“Yeah, this is… the waves of second-hand embarrassment, I just can’t.”  
Patton warmly grabbed Virgil’s cold hand and Logan’s calloused hand, dragging them back over to the living room.  
“Come on guys, you can do this. It’s gonna be a lot of fun and it’s only for an hour. Then you’ll be rewarded with the lasagna I made!”  
Patton beamed proudly and awaited their responses. Although Logan didn’t like giving into bribes, when it came to Patton and how proud he looked… Logan couldn’t crush that. So he pushed his ego aside and prepared to be forever teased by Roman after the events of tonight.   
Virgil was trapped. Sure he was bored and loved to hang out with the other sides but Just Dance? Being put in the spotlight? Exercise?! These things he did NOT like. If he said no, it would be back to his room of solitude to continue his spiral of overthinking. He began to wonder: what if they were mad at him all night for not participating, no it would definitely be forever, no that’s not true they loved him, wait he was overthinking again! Okay, definitely can’t say no. Simultaneously, Logan and Virgil half-smiled, sighed, and agreed to play.  
This was fabulous! Roman couldn’t believe he had forgotten about this game. It was everything he loved. Intense music, dancing, being the best, and everyone being impressed at how good he was. Not to mention being able to watch how much the others got into the game once they started playing. He had just finished his solo dance and regained oxygen as he brushed the sweat off his forehead. Then he took a bow as the others clapped and laughed. They were laughing at the funny dance moves during the performance, not him… right? Of course, he did a great job. He collapsed on the couch taking Virgil's seat since it was Virgil's turn next. As the others focused on Virgil, Roman did a quick sniff test of himself. Sage and sweat. Not a terrible odour. I mean what do you expect, when you workout or dance you sweat, it’s normal! He focused his attention on Virgil who unsurprisingly seemed really nervous to do a dance on his own. This confused Roman, Virgil was having a great time when they were doing the group dances, why was this different?  
The anxiety in Virgil began to swell up all quite suddenly. When you dance with others they are always focused on themselves and not on you. But during solo dances everyone would be focused on him. What if he messed up! He glanced around the room, not sure what he was looking for but he was desperate. When Patton stood up and said he would dance with Virgil, Virgil almost teared up in relief and told himself he owed one to Patton. The anxiety in his stomach lessened, at least he wasn’t on his own anymore. He looked at Patton who was concentrated on the screen; controller in hand. Virgil fastened their controllers, causing Patton to giggle and thank him for the help. The dance began. Once he got going, Virgil really enjoyed dancing. He had always secretly liked playing this game but Roman will never know that. No way. Once he started, he was in it to win it. The song ended with them spinning into a bow which Virgil nailed, getting the bonus. However, Patton did not. He tripped over his own two feet and knocked Virgil over with him. They landed beside each other and after the initial shock and realizing they were okay they burst out laughing. Patton was close enough to him that he could smell his hair. It smelled like sugar cookies and shea butter. It was very calming to Virgil. It occured to Virgil that he smelled that way because there were traces of brown sugar sprinkled in his hair. It was cute; it was just like Patton.  
Everyone was really talented at this game, they made it look easy. Logan couldn’t understand. He expected Roman to do well at this, he was always skilled in the art department. However, Patton made it look so simple to dance to the beat and Virgil too. He got into it so quickly. Why was it so hard for Logan? Logan really wanted to be good at it so when it was his turn he had a plan. He followed every direction on-screen and logically predicted the next moves. He followed every movement exactly and did everything correctly. He did it but the other sides laughed.  
“Good effort Logan,” Roman snickered, “you tried your best.”  
“What do you mean, I don’t understand?” Logan replied, completely confused, “I did everything correctly. I completed the challenge successfully, what did I miss?”  
“You see Logan,” Patton chimed in, eager to teach the teacher. “Dancing isn’t all about structure and perfection, it’s how you improvise and flow. It is a form of expression and... fun!”  
“Yeah,” Virgil agreed, “You were just a bit… how do I explain, choppy?”  
“I see. I never looked at it that way, it makes sense. I understand now.” Logan did not understand and decided to research this on his own because he did not like having the least knowledge in the group.  
Time flies when you’re having fun! Patton looked at his family and couldn’t help but smile. He loved them all so much and was so glad he decided to do this with them. They were all having fun together, creating memories. To Patton, nothing could be better than that. A sharp quick ding made Patton jump to his feet. He ran to the small, crowded kitchen to retrieve his homemade lasagna. Pulling it out of the oven caused steam to blur his glasses. He set down the lasagna and cut big rectangular slices, placing them onto four plates. They deserved it tonight. Warm comfort food of al dente pasta, sharp cheese, veggies, and a crisp golden top was their favourite. Patton brought out the food to the table and didn’t need to call them over, they were already there waiting. As they sat down together and ate they talked about many things; stories, jokes, plans, and life's mysteries. It was beautiful, so Patton couldn’t help it. He got up and hugged each of them, individually thanking them for making this the best day in weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave comments, I'd love to hear back from you all!


	3. Ice Skating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sides go ice skating in pairs. Patton teaches Logan, the twins are very competitive, and Virgil and Janus awkwardly try to bond.

The sides had decided that ice skating would be a fun activity, well Roman and Patton thought it would. They just ended up convincing the others with their amazing power of pouty faces. Worked every time. So the gang saddled up their ice skates and drove to the arena. Logan was driving, Janus in shotgun giving him directions, leaving the other four cramped in the back. Virgil had decided to go into his natural state of hood up, headphones in, and looking out the window to avoid conversation. Roman was at the other window seat, feet pushing against the back of Logan’s seat while throwing small paper balls at Janus. Patton sat between them happily swinging his feet as he sipped from an apple juice box that Janus had given him before the ride. Remus was also supposed to be sitting in the back beside Patton but he had ended up lying atop the three of them as if they were a therapist’s chair.  
“So Roman,” Remus questioned, “why’d you wanna go skating?”  
“To show how I’m a way better skater than you, obviously” Roman replied, throwing a paper ball at Remus. Remus propped himself up to make eye contact with Roman.  
“No way, I’m the best skater.”  
“You wish.”  
“Bet you can’t skate around the whole rink before I can. Bet. Bet!”  
Remus began to chant ‘bet’ as if he was saying shot. Virgil smirked and joined in. Roman simply struck out his hand and he and Remus shook on it, the bet was on.

Once they had entered the rink, a wave of canteen fries was all they could smell. Then the refreshing cold hit that would soon become quite numbing if they weren't careful. That was why Patton had brought gloves and hats for all of them to wear. They all settled down on the hard metal benches and began to put their skates on. Roman had practically ripped his bright white skates out of its bag, yanking the cherry red laces to tie as fast as possible. He crookedly put on the matching hat and glove set Patton had given him and leaped onto the rink, trying to get a head start and completely forgetting to warm up. Naturally, this caused him to fall over right onto his face. This was not a graceful fall either, it hurt. However, he stood up and brushed himself off. He had to beat Remus to prove himself the ice skating champion. Unluckily for him, as he was getting up Remus had zipped by. He chased after his brother.  
While the creative brothers had rushed to enter the rink, the other four had taken a more calm approach and were taking their time to get ready. Logan had put on his skates and was fastening his thin dark blue scarf when he noticed that Patton seemed to be struggling to tie his laces with his gloves on. Logan didn’t understand why he simply didn’t just remove the gloves but he seemed frustrated. Logan got down on his knees in front of Patton and put his hands on the other's.  
“Here, let me.”  
Patton smiled and Logan smiled back, quickly tying the laces and standing up. He held out his hand which Patton took and led him to the ice.  
It was just Janus and Virgil left and Janus was ready to go but remained patient at Virgil’s side. Virgil seemed to be struggling like Patton to tie the laces. Janus should help, Logan tied Patton's laces so he should do the same for Virgil, right?  
“Hey Virg… you want me to?”  
He gestured at the laces. Virgil defensively turned away from him.  
“No I’m fine. I was just wasting time. The less skating the better. I don’t even want to do this.”  
“Well, what would you rather do?”  
Virgil finished tying his laces and chuckled to himself.   
“Honestly,” He looked up at Janus “I’d rather get some cheese fries.”  
Wow, Virgil was adorable. Janus tried not to smile but he couldn’t help it. He immediately turned away so Virgil couldn’t see his smile and headed for the rink.  
“Are you coming or what?”

Patton was so glad the gang came out to skate today, he was having so much fun. Skating was so calming to him. The cold wind on your face, the way you glide around, and watching people spin. It was so graceful. Patton wasn’t a pro skater, leave that to Roman, but he knew the basics. He could go backwards, stop, and do the bunnyhop. And one time Roman helped him with a basic spin!   
Currently, Logan was latched onto him as they skated. It was a firm grip. It was as if… wait a minute.  
“Logan, do you know how to skate?”  
How had Patton not noticed! Logan was latched onto him and was very unbalanced. It looked as if he had no control of his feet. Logan gave him a fear filled smile and nodded. Patton grabbed his hands and slid in front of him, scratching the ice, he helped Logan balance and move forward. Logan was watching every movement Patton made, trying to understand what to do, yeah he was amazing… Oh no, pay attention Pat! He needed to pay attention or he could do something dumb like trip and make them both fall over. That’d be embarrassing.

Remus was having a great day. He had his favourite deodorant for breakfast, he got to hang out with the others, and could skate around like a madman on ice. To top it off he just beat Roman in the race proving he was, in fact, the best skater. He caught his breath while waiting for Roman to catch up. When his brother regained his oxygen he proceeded to waste it by speaking.  
“That was royally unfair! I fell and you started without me!”  
“Actually my dear brother,” Remus retorted “I believe you started without me and tripped right out of the gate!”  
The blush of embarrassment on Roman’s face just proved Remus’ point. This caused Remus to maniacally laugh because for once he was right and it wasn’t his fault. Angrily, Roman shoved Remus causing him to almost slip from the rink’s glass pane he was leaning against.  
“It was a rough start but I can still bounce back!” Roman said, “Let me show you that I’m still the best.”  
“And how do you think you’re gonna possibly prove that to the true best skater?”  
“Skating is the art of gracefulness, I challenge you to a spin off!”  
Roman did a little spin while saying that and dramatically pointed at Remus. A small knot twisted in Remus’ stomach. Remus was not graceful, at all. He was often noted as the opposite in fact. Spinning and jumping and all the figure skater stuff was just un-Remus. Still, Remus would not give up his newly earned crown so easily. If he should fall, let it be with honour.  
“Challenge accepted! Prepare to get dizzy.”

Virgil and Deceit had done a couple laps around the rink together in awkward silence. Everyone had gone off in pairs and that left Virgil to deal with Deceit, why Deceit. He would rather hang out with anyone one else. The world was cruel to him. He kept his pace quick and his head down to show he wanted to be alone but that tactic never worked around Deceit. He attempted to make small talk with him! The balls he had-  
“So…” Deceit said, “Ya like jazz?”  
“No. You knew that.”  
Deceit chuckled to himself, “Yeah, my bad. No jazz. You’re into more of the emo bands… hardcore! Right? So how are the light sides? You enjoy hanging with them?”  
“Obviously.” Virgil snapped back, “Or else I wouldn’t be with them.”  
“True, true. You know we can be quite fun too. If you ever wanted to-”  
Deceit was quickly cut off by Virgil. He never enjoyed small talk to begin with, it was too much stress and unpredictability. Why couldn’t Deceit realize he wanted to be left alone?! He couldn’t keep it in any longer. The anger that bubbled under his skin burst through, harshly, making him almost yell allowed.   
“What do you want, Deceit? Why are you talking to me? I don’t trust you, we aren’t friends, so why all this effort? What are you trying to get out of me?”  
He had completely stopped and turned around to face Deceit, blocking him from skating forward. He almost looked… upset? Sad? This shocked Virgil. Why would Deceit show his honest emotions, he was a liar! Why wasn’t he acting like who he is? Deceit reached out his hand, attempting to place it on Virgil’s shoulder but Virgil defensively pulled away. So he put his hand back down and looked Virgil directly in the eyes.  
“I want.” Deceit faltered, looking down at the ice then timidly looking back up, “I want things back to the way they used to be but… but I know that can’t be. You made your choice and I have to accept that but why can’t we still be friends? We used to be so close and could trust each other. At least, I trusted you. I don’t feel betrayed because you left so why do you act that way towards me? Don’t you remember how we used to get dressed up Halloween morning and spend the whole day spooking everyone till they thought they were actually being haunted? We would go searching for spiders of every size and variety for the little zoo you kept in your room. 3am peanut butter dance parties in which we would raid the kitchens and eat everything we could find doused in peanut butter? I miss those times Virgil. Most importantly, I miss you.”  
And the biggest jerk of the year award goes to Virgil! Man, he really was being awful. How could he act this way to a dark side when he was once one of them?  
“Listen De-” he corrected himself, “Janus. I guess I was momentarily blinded. I was scared of the others disowning me because of you guys. Which is stupid, I know because we are family. I remember all those times, believe me and I do trust you. I’m thankful you don’t feel betrayed cause if it were the other way around I probably wouldn’t be so kind. So…”  
Virgil didn’t know what to say, how could Janus ever forgive him. Luckily he didn’t need to say anything more, Janus stuck out his hand.  
“Friends again?”  
Instead of returning the handshake he leapt onto Janus giving him the friendliest hug he could muster.  
“Friends forever! Thank you for showing me reality, I feel awful. I can’t believe I gave you the cold shoulder for so long.”  
“It’s okay, Virgil.”  
“Thank you… Janus.”

Roman had won the spin challenge, obviously. His spins were fast, tight, and in proper form. While Remus’ were all over the place to say the least. Proudly, Roman glided over to Remus who was sitting on the ice, he picked him up.  
“So, ready to give me the crown?” Roman smirked.  
“I think you’ll find that we tied, therefore I will keep my title as best skater until you surpass me.”  
“Oh shoot, you’re right. Ah… um… got it! Pair lifts!”  
“Say what now?”  
“You know where you glide with your partner hand-in-hand and then pick them up in the air above your head. You see it all the time in figure skating and romance films! That will combine our strength and agility for the perfect tiebreaker.”  
“Alright but who are our partners gonna be?”  
“Virgil!” Roman sang out and grabbed the little stormcloud from his deep conversation with Janus and brought him to the centre of the rink. Janus didn’t even object; he just stood there, deep in thought.  
Remus was having a harder time choosing a partner, he too was going to choose Virgil because there was no way Janus would even let him ask permission. This left him to choose Patton because imagine if he chose Logan. Even Remus laughed at the idea of trying to lift Logan in the air without him freaking out. He skated over to Patton and held out his hand. Patton’s freckles were masked by the red-cold blush that appeared over his nose. His bright eyes shone through his big round glasses which in that moment reminded Remus of an ice rink. Remus then imagined little people skating on Patton's glasses, going in loops and doing figure eights. Patton grabbed Remus’ hand, snapping him back into reality. Remus led him over to the others while Janus, now out of his thoughts, went over to Logan. The two of them now watched, confused why their partners were taken away from them.  
Virgil did not know what was going on and needed to know. He tried asking Princey, but he was too excited, waiting for his brother to return so they could do whatever scary thing they planned. Virgil would not wait patiently to find out. He harshly pulled on Roman’s scarf causing him to almost topple over. Gasping, he now had Virgil’s full attention.  
“What are you doing Roman? What do you need me and-” He excessively waved his hand at Patton, “Patton for?”  
“While if you would just be patient enough for Remus to arrive we were about to tell you,” Roman said, offended. Remus and Patton caught up to them. “So we need you two for our tiebreaker. You’re gonna be our partners for the pair lifts and Logan and Janus will be the judges to see who did better.”  
Patton excitedly squealed, jumping up and down causing the tassels on the sides of his hat to do the same. Virgil immediately recoiled, crossing his arms to give himself a self-soothing hug. That sounded scary! Being lifted into the air while on ice! What if Roman dropped him? Not on purpose of course, he trusted Roman, but by accident? Or what if Remus accidently dropped Patton? Then he would have to kill him, no questions asked but how could Patton be excited by this? Virgil knew he tended to over exaggerate things in his head so if Patton seemed excited and he trusted Roman, then maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad experience. Roman took his hand and smiled.  
“Well emo nightmare, looks like we are up first. Follow my lead and you’ll be fine. Trust me, this is gonna be fun.”  
Roman pulled him along swiftly and they began to pick up speed. Usually when this happened, Virgil would try to slow down to avoid any possible injury but this time he didn’t. He was following Roman’s lead. His hands began to get cold in this weird feeling of nervousness and excitement. This was probably his adrenaline kicking in. He couldn’t tell if he loved or hated the feeling yet. All he knew is he didn’t want to stop. The rush really hit him when Roman turned around, holding both of Virgil's hands as he began to skate backwards. He mouthed a countdown from three as he placed his hands on Virgil’s waist. The butterflies in his stomach woke up and were on high alert. Thanks but you guys are a bit late to the party Virgil sighed. Then it happened. He was in the air. Gliding through the air, he felt like a child being swung in circles by his father. Everything seemed to slow down as he flew. People went by slower, his breath lasted longer, the wind against his face wasn’t so sharp either. It was a magical moment. Just as he felt at peace the moment was gone. Time went back to it’s quick pace as Roman put him down. Just like that he returned to the world of the rink. He already missed it. He then realized how firm a grip he had on Roman’s hands, even when feeling peaceful he was still his old, anxious self. He quickly released his grip, returning colour to Roman’s wrists. He awkwardly chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.  
“That was fu- alright.” Virgil said, trying to mask his emotions. Luckily, Roman was an oblivious dude and didn’t notice, or chose not to notice, how Virgil almost showed enjoyment for something he and Roman did.  
Remus was up next, how was he going to one up his brother? Did he need to? His brother really wanted to win, it would make him happy. What was one loss if it made his brothers day? Don’t worry, he wasn’t planning on forfeiting or dropping Patton. He would just try his best and that was enough. Anyways, it was unlikely he would be able to come up with anything creative in time… well appropriately creative. Just being honest! He was dark creativity after all.  
“Alright, time to put on a show! You trust me Pat?”  
“Of course!” Patton replied. That was something Remus always admired. How even though the others would be hesitant or distrustful of him, Patton always saw the best in people, in him. He trusted Remus. Remus would never betray him. For he was too scared to lose something like that.  
“Okay then,” Remus taunted at his brother, “Let’s show them our moves!”  
They picked up speed, Remus feeling the cool breeze under his pits and enjoying how refreshing it felt. He firmly placed his hands on Patton’s waist, making flirty eyes with him. Patton gasped.  
“Remus, keep it in your pants!”  
“Woah Patton, get your mind out of the gutter! That’s my job.”  
“Wait you didn’t mean, I thought, um, ugh, no gross!”  
Relax, relax,” Remus chuckled, “I was teasing you. You know me too well. Now get ready for the up!”  
With that Remus used his upper body strength to lift Patton up, grunting in the process. With a clear view in sight, he risked a look up at Patton. He was smiling so widely, eyes open in awe and wonder. He shot his hands out like he was a bird and closed his eyes. Opening his eyes once more, he exclaimed the phrase ‘whee!’ like a child going down a slide. Looking back down again, Remus swiftly turned away from the rink wall he almost hit. Solid recovery, no one seemed to notice. As he approached the group he set Patton down, twirling him before he let go. Making Patton spin right into Roman who casually caught him. Remus cleared his throat.  
“So judges, how did I do?”  
Roman interjected.  
“That’s not how this works, they must decide a winner! So my dear judges, who do you believe did best in this final challenge?”  
Logan and Janus looked at each other. Clearly, by their expressions, they couldn’t care less and they didn’t even want to do this in the first place. Janus looked at the twins, then whispered into Logan’s ear. He nodded.  
“I agree.” Logan stated, “The winner of the… um…”  
“Best skater’s competition!” Roman filled in the blank.  
“The winner of the best skater’s competition,” Logan continued, “with note that we are very underprepared to judge and are judging solely by, well… I’m not exactly sure. Still us two judges have awarded the victory and title to none other than Roman.”  
“Alright!” Roman did a victory spin, “I told you brother.”  
Remus gave a half smile before saying, “So you gonna do that victory lap or will I have to chase you to do it?”  
With that Roman laughed and began his lap, Remus closely behind him.

Patton and Logan resumed their lesson, Patton in the lead, never letting go of Logan’s hand once. Patton was impressed, Logan had begun to pick up skating pretty quickly. He had gained more balance and strength only after a few laps. Now he wasn’t ready to skate on his own yet but Patton was confident he was getting there. Logan was looking right at Patton’s skates, trying to understand his movements and copy them. It made Patton a little self conscious of how he was skating if he was being honest. He never really focused on how he skated, he just did. It was probably for the better because just as he was so focused on his movements he crossed his legs over one another and tripped himself. Falling on his side and letting go of Logan’s hand as to not bring him down too. Logan cried out Patton’s name but due to his lack of skill kept moving forward, hand on the wall to try and turn himself around or at least slow down. Man that hurt. He forgot how hard ice really was until he slammed his chin, shoulder, and knee into it. His whole left side hurt and his head was dizzy. His mouth tasted like… copper? A pair of black skates quickly appeared in his field of vision. It wasn’t Logan, it was too fast. The shuffling of his feet from side to side and panic in his voice made Patton aware it was Virgil who arrived.  
“Dad are you okay? Oh no, are you hurt? Should I help you up? I’m going to sit you up!”  
Patton, a bit disoriented, couldn’t find the right words to say and simply let Virgil help him. Virgil swiftly sat him up and that did not help. His field of vision went all pixelated, ‘too fast!’ his brain told him. He almost passed out but got a hold of himself. He understood the body hurt to warn the brain it was in pain but the pain lingered longer than he wanted it to. He wished he could say: thanks body, got the memo, could you please stop hurting now? That didn’t work so he focused on Virgil instead.  
“Ouch, now that was not fun!” Patton chuckled but the concerned expression on Virgil’s face made him act more serious.  
“I’m fine kiddo, just a little fall. Where’d Logan go? Is he okay?”  
“Logan’s fine,” Janus appeared, “He’s more worried about you, maybe you should take a break off ice for a bit?”  
“Awww,” Patton whined, “but that’s no fun!”  
“Nor is passing out on the ice,” Janus said strictly.  
“Yeah, you’re right.” Patton agreed.  
With that, Virgil and Janus picked Patton up and helped him off the ice to the benches where Logan was waiting for him. He plopped onto the bench next to Logan while the other two listened to Logan.  
“Thanks for the help, but I’ve got it from here.”  
“Maybe we should call it a day?” Janus suggested, “go home?”  
“Give it ten minutes for his head to clear,” Logan looked over at Patton, “then we’ll pack up for the day.”  
Virgil and Janus nodded, skating off.  
Logan was concerned. By the way Patton was reacting he was able to tell how Patton fell and what he had injured. It was nothing major, just some future bruises and a headache. Still, Patton maybe didn’t know that. Maybe he was scared that he was seriously hurt? Logan wasn’t good at determining feelings but he tried his best to deal with them.  
“Don’t worry, Pat. You’re gonna be okay. It may hurt later but it’s nothing serious and this is simply how the healing process works.”  
“Easy for you to say. You weren’t the one who fell.” Patton snapped back.  
“I know that.” Logan cautiously said, confused. Had he offended Patton? He had tried to comfort him. Maybe he made him feel inferior or said something too obvious making him feel dumb. Logan wasn’t sure. Whatever he did must have hurt Patton. He tried to explain himself. “I was just worried that you were alarmed by the pain you were feeling so I tried to comfort you with some logical facts.”  
“I- I know, Logan. Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just upset at how stupid I am!”  
Logan considered interjecting but that would just shut Patton down. Sometimes, he learned, to get through feelings you need to talk them out. He decided to listen to Pat and only stop him if he began to go too deep in his negative thinking.  
“If I only paid attention a little more than I wouldn’t have fallen and failed you. I’ve disappointed you and ruined this perfect trip for you. You’re mad at me, I know it. I don’t blame you, I hate myself too. I don’t think clearly and get too caught up in the moment and it ruins everything! I ruin everything! Why does the world hate me so much? It is because I wasn’t careful enough? Is that why I’m being punished with so much pain? Because everything hurts!”  
Patton stopped speaking and began to tear up. Emotional overload. Logan had to diffuse the situation. He did it the only way he knew how.  
“Patton please stop jumping to conclusions,” he said, calmly. Slowly placing one hand on his back and rubbing in small circles, “You are magnifying this one small event way out of proportion. I don’t hate you because of it, I don’t even blame you. I blame gravity. Please don’t mentally filter out all the fun parts of today that I know you enjoyed. You didn’t ruin anything so don’t let this negative thinking spiral out of control. Just take a deep breath and think of all the good that happened today, okay?”  
“Okay, thanks Logan. I really appreciate what you said.”  
Patton took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He began to smile, when he opened his eyes again he hugged Logan. Usually, Logan would be uninterested or uncomfortable with physical contact but he let this one slide and returned the hug. After a few seconds of silence, Logan released the hug and picked up a worn-out notebook he found on the bench next to him. When he picked it up he noticed that it was half used. The first half was full of tic-tac-toe games. The other half of the notebook was filled with empty tic-tac-toe boards. In the spirals of the notebook someone had shoved in two small pencils. He pulled out one of the pencils and handed it to Patton.  
“Since we’re here, wanna play to pass the time?”  
“I’d love to.”

Janus looked up at the big game board on the wall of the rink. The big bright, red letters blazed into his eyes, letting him know the time was 4:52pm. Even when he blinked the image lingered in his mind. It had been ten minutes which meant it was time for him to rein in the troops. He sent in Virgil first, that was the easy part. The twins would be the challenge. They were like those kids who did not want to go home after the sleepover party was over and would do everything in their power to hide and pretend they didn't exist to spend ten extra minutes at the house. Janus caught up to them.  
“Okay boys, it’s time to pack up and head out. It’s been a long day of fun and I know you’re both very tired so…”  
The twins looked at each other with that mischievous smile Janus knew only too well.  
“If we’re so tired how could we do this!” Roman yelled.  
“Gotta catch us first!” Remus taunted.  
With that the twins bolted, Roman speeding forward and Remus straying to the left. Janus only sighed and cracked his knuckles, he loved a good challenge. He pursued Roman first. Thanks to his slow skate with Virgil, he had a lot of preserved energy in him, Roman did not. Despite his best efforts, he was tired out and Janus easily caught up to him. Grabbing his arm he returned him to Logan to take off his skates. This sheppard had one sheep left, the black sheep of their family. Luckily, he spent enough time with Remus to know his weaknesses.  
“Hey Remus, if you return now I have a spare stick of deodorant lying around in the very warm car. Just for you.”  
That’s all it took. Remus stopped in his tracks, turned around and smiled. His eyes lit up as he quickly returned to Janus and they dismounted from the ice. Janus was the last to leave the ice but the first to remove his skates and return his hat and mitts to Patton. With spare time on his hands he decided to hit the canteen. When he returned they were all packed up and waiting for him. He almost tossed Patton a water bottle but remembered that he was really bad at catching things so he softly handed it to him instead.  
“Here, drink up. You don’t want to get a headache later.”  
He proceeded to go to Virgil who was anxiously tapping his finger on the bench.   
“Hey Virgil, I know you weren’t keen on coming out today so… here.”  
He handed Virgil cheese fries.

The gang safely made it to the car. They packed up and headed out. All resuming the same seats they took on the way to the rink. Roman had a great day. He had secured his rightful place as best skater and had a lot of fun being with his brother. He didn’t get to do that much and he wished he did more. He forgot how much fun it was being with Remus, doing the things they used to do. He made a mental reminder to bond with Remus more frequently. To bond with everyone more frequently. Although he did have a lot of fun in his room, being the hero and acting. It was also a great deal more fun being with his family and sometimes he forgot that. He looked around the car and in that moment he knew he truly loved them all. Remus who was happily munching on deodorant, staring at the roof. For no reason, just cause he could. Patton who was sipping on a water bottle while explaining to Janus why he could in fact eat a second cookie without getting caught or noticed. Virgil who was peacefully looking out the window, hoping no one would catch him using the reflection to fix his hair. Janus who was listening to Patton by looking at his reflection in the mirror. Clearly in disagreement to what he was saying but didn’t have a reason to argue with him over it. Finally, Logan. Driving them all safely home, secretly sneaking glances at his family and smiling to himself. Roman loved them all. He put on his headphones to listen to his music and prepared to take a nap during the ride home. And nap he did, all the way home. When they arrived home, Logan had to carry him inside while Virgil helped tuck him in for the night.  
“Goodnight, dear prince.” Virgil murmured.  
He closed the door with a soft click.  
“Goodnight, Virgil.” He whispered. Nailed it, stuck the landing. Worked every time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really proud of this work, ngl. Hope everyone loved it too.


	4. Nightmare's Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one would watch a scary movie with Remus and Patton felt bad so he decided to join him. This pleased Remus but it was at the cost of a terrible nightmare for Patton. Remus comforts Patton but why would he come to Remus for help?

Patton felt bad. Or… guilty? Both? It didn’t really matter. He began to notice that Remus was struggling to fit in with the group. Well it was more like he didn’t care that others judged him or were disgusted by him. It was good he had that kind of confidence but it left him very lonely a lot of the time. Patton decided it was his mission to spend time with Remus and get to know better if the others wouldn’t.  
It was after the build-your-own-salad supper and Patton was cleaning up the table. (It always got messy, don’t ask) Remus was lying on the couch, scrolling through Netflix on the TV. Perfect opportunity. Patton headed on over, cookies in hand and ready to bond.   
“I’ll give you a cookie if you let me join you tonight?” Patton held out the cookie, waving it under Remus’ nose. Without hesitation Remus took a bite of the cookie still in Patton’s hand which shouldn’t have surprised Patton. Patton cautiously sat down beside Remus and in return he sat up so Patton wouldn’t have to sit on his legs. A couple seconds of awkward silence led to Patton taking the initiative of the duo.  
“What were you thinking of watching? I’m fine with anything myself. Just watch what you were gonna watch and act like I’m not here!” he chuckled, “Although, just warning you I get very invested in the characters so if something major happens I’ll probably be yelling at the screen.”  
Remus slowly nodded, clearly being cautious about how he was acting even though Patton was trying his best to melt the ice and make Remus feel more comfortable. He was sure that by the time the movie started Remus would relax. All Patton could wonder is what movie Remus wanted to watch tonight?  
“Well I thank you for putting your trust in me,” Remus said smilingly, “but as my brother so often says ‘this may be the biggest mistake in your life’ but you're stuck with me now! Tonight we’re watching the Sixth Sense and you’re gonna be so surprised!”  
An excited joy filled Remus’ face and Patton found that excitement to be contagious. He couldn’t help it. Patton knew that whatever this Sixth Sense movie was about it was gonna be graphic and probably very scary. That was just this twins vibe. While Roman preferred Disney or emotional romances Remus was the blood, guts, and gore thriver. He could never imagine him putting on Cinderella or Snow White for the night. Patton braced himself for the hour or two he was about to be thrown into. Blankets wrapped around him and a safety pillow to hide behind or cuddle intensely to calm himself.  
The movie began and it just went right into it with a psycho and a murderer. Yikes, he hoped Remus wasn’t taking halloween notes or Patton might have to lock his bedroom door and windows at night. But by the looks of it Remus wouldn’t need to take notes because it seemed like he had seen this film dozens of times, quoting it and looking at Patton to see his reactions. Which Patton did not hide. He would jump at the jumpscares, slowly curl into a ball behind his pillow, and yell at the characters to run away and not inspect scary stuff, which of course they did anyways because that’s how scary movies work.  
At one point, the movie got scary enough that Patton abandoned his comfort pillow, screamed, and hid in the crook of Remus’ neck and the couch. Completely hidden from the screen, he refused to look until the scene was over, causing Remus’ cold heart to fliker some warmth. Patton felt safe with him, not hiding from him. It was different, new, something Remus really liked.  
The movie ended late into the night and almost everyone else was in their bedrooms asleep. They had all come downstairs during different times of the evening to wish them a good night. Logan had come down first, unsurprisingly because he was very strict on himself when it came to a good sleep schedule. Then it was Roman who had retired from his writing for the evening to get some good beauty sleep. When Roman noticed how scary the movie was he made sure to hug and kiss Patton good night to give him some comfort. Dealing with Remus was already scary enough, poor padre. He glared at Remus as he left the room making sure his brother knew of the disapproval he felt about this situation. Janus was the last to come down. He spent time cleaning up the last dishes and late night snacks that were left out on the counter. Locking the doors and turning off lights. As he said his good nights to them he tossed over a large blanket just in case they got too tired and wanted to sleep on the couch. Patton gladly thanked him and immediately cuddled into it. Virgil never came down which wasn’t uncommon, Virgil tended to stay up late and Patton would have to come in sometimes and parent him so he wouldn’t pull an all nighter.  
They turned off the tv and tiredly wobbled to their feet, slowly staggering up the stairs they went their separate ways into their bedrooms, closed the doors and readied themselves for sleep.  
Patton went to the vanity sink in his room and looked in the mirror. Inspecting his face he washed off the dirt from the day's work and brushed his teeth, singing the ABC’s in his mind the whole time. After feeling all clean he smiled at his reflection before taking off his glasses and heading to the closet. He had already laid out his pajamas for the night which he was grateful for. He was tired enough that if they weren’t there he would’ve probably slept in his clothes. He put on his pastel blue lamb patterned pj set and some fuzzy socks. Patton felt all cozy and at peace, the fear he had from the moment before was completely vanished. He wasn’t scared of something grabbing his ankles from under the bed or watching him sleep from the closet. He tossed the absurd amount of stuffed animals he owned off his bed and they bounced to the side. Leaping in his bed he fell asleep immediately.

Patton was making blueberry pancakes. He’s excited to decorate them with banana slices and chocolate sauce and serve them to his family. He hears Roman come down the stairs so he turns around to greet him. Patton screamed. For this was horribly wrong. Displayed before him was Roman Sanders, yes, but he was dead. Brutally murdered by the looks of it. Dull eyes and blood all over the floor. He screamed for help but was frozen in place, he couldn’t move. If he did it would make this real. Remus comes running down the stairs shortly after.   
“What’s wrong, Patton?” Remus says casually as he stands beside the body. Patton is taken aback by how he’s acting, he stutters out a response.  
“Y-y-you don’t see… the bod-d… Roman!” he practically sobs out.  
“I know! He’s such a drama queen.”  
Patton gives up on him and calls for the others. Virgil rushes downstairs.  
“Patton what’s wrong? Roman! What happened, we need to do something! Patton call 911. Patton!”  
Patton tried, he really did but he couldn’t move.  
“I… can’t. Virg I’m sorry.”  
“Patton this is serious,” Virgil got to his feet “You have to-”  
He was cut off by Janus who stood behind him and snapped his neck, killing him instantly. He fell down beside Roman, his hoodie absorbing the blood.  
“Janus what did you do!”  
Patton screamed at him still in the same spot as he’d always been in. He didn’t respond, just stared at him with eyes terrifyingly white. He was possessed. Janus went back upstairs passing Logan who slowly walked down.  
“Logan, thank goodness you’re here! I need your help. Virg and Roman are hurt. I need you to…”  
Patton stopped. Logan had the most gruesome features looking like a zombie and creepily dragging himself towards Patton as he ate his own flesh. He turned back to Remus who was inspecting his nails and seeming unfazed. Remus looked over to Patton with a concerned look on his face.  
“Patton, you don’t look so well. Have you fallen ill?”  
“No I’m fine. But everyone else is not! Please can you not help me?”  
“I don’t understand, morning Logan.”  
Remus moved aside to let Logan into the kitchen and towards Patton.  
“Stay back! Please you’re scaring me.”  
Remus said one last thing before fading away.  
“Patton, pay attention, your pancakes are burning.”  
Patton turned to look at the pan where instead of pancakes inside there was Thomas.  
“Patton, you’re not helping.” Thomas said disappointedly before Logan grabbed a hold of Patton and dug his nails in.

Patton awoke and yelled out Thomas’ name. His hair stuck to his forehead in sweat, he shivered feeling so cold and scared. This was the first time in a while since he had a nightmare and couldn’t remember what he used to do to calm himself. He needed comfort from someone but he would feel guilty if he woke one of the others from their much needed sleep. He decided to go get some warm milk for now to calm his nerves. Cautiously he left his room, just a couple of hours ago he felt cozy and at peace, now he was the complete opposite of that. Uncomfortable and on edge. He left his door a crack open for some light source to guide himself down the dark, quiet hallway.  
After getting some milk he realizes it didn’t help. Too scared to be frustrated he races up the stairs so nothing gets him from behind. And although his mind tells him to return to his bed, his feet take him in another direction. And although his brain says this is stupid his hand chooses to knock on his door. And although his mind says to leave now and not bother him his body chooses to wait for a response to the gentle door knocking. Which did happen, but since his mind was against this whole idea he didn’t know what to say when Remus opened his door.  
“Can I come in?” was all Patton could say. Every word filling him with more and more guilt, more and more urges to just go to bed and deal with this silly thing himself. Remus nodded while stepping to the side and gesturing for him to enter. Patton did so and sat down on Remus’ bed as he closed the door.  
Boy oh boy, if Remus wasn’t so tired and caring he so would’ve made a sex joke right now. I mean Patton was sitting on his bed at night! What held him back was Patton’s demeanor, totally different from his usual happy, bouncy, parental aloofness. He was scared and vulnerable. He had come to Remus… for help. This was serious so Remus chose to act serious. He sat down next to Patton and slowly started rubbing his back, this made Patton's shoulders relax.  
“What’s going on, Patton?” he asked quietly as to not startle him. The moment he said this it set Patton off. He word-vomited everything to this twin, the whole nightmare story, in fearful sobs near the end. Remus listened the entire time, pulling him in for a hug to try and be comforting.   
While he may be “dark” creativity not all his ideas were gross and evil. Some ideas were helpful, that’s the point of creativity, right? This idea was exactly that. He knew just what to do to help Patton rather than meaningless words he was going to take action.  
“Alright sugarda- ahum, come with me. I wanna show you something,” Remus held out his hand and Patton latched onto it, he led him outside of his room and over to Logan's room where he knocked on the door, Patton hiding behind him. A shuffle was heard from inside, then a click of a lamp turned on, Logan opened his door and looked at the two of them, examining them to see what was going on.   
“Patton? What are you doing awake at this hour,” Logan parented him, “you should be sleeping now. Do you need something Remus? Are you and Patton here to pull a ‘prank’?”  
“No, no,” Remus chuckled, “We’re just here to see if you’re okay. You haven’t had any zombie-ish tendencies or behaviours lately, have you?”  
“Of course not, that is a ridiculous question, why would you…” Logan pondered but as he spoke he saw the fear in Patton’s eyes and realized there may be something important going on that he was unaware of and by the looks of it that was a feelings issue so he didn’t need to be involved, “nonetheless, I am well, in healthy form and in need of rest. If you are okay I shall return to my sleeping and I hope you two do the same.”  
A relief washed over Patton’s face as Logan closed his door. ⅕ of the way there. Next Remus dragged him over to Virgil’s room. The room looked dark and drafted cold air but it seeped out a cool blue artificial light indicating he was still awake. Remus tapped on the door a quick three times and it was quickly answered by Virgil opening it a sliver to see who it was before opening it fully.  
“What do you need Remus? Patton?” Virgil’s eyes quickly glanced back and forth, a worried tone set in, he knew something was wrong, “Is everything alright? What happened Patton? You look like you were just crying! Who did it to him Remus? I swear-”  
He was cut off by Remus who shushed him for the house was asleep and he was raising his voice.  
“It’s all right, Virgie. Patton’s okay. He was just worried that you weren’t so we’re here to see that you’re a-okay.”  
“I- uh, yeah… I’m fine. Wh-why would you be worried about that? What’s going on?”  
“Nothing, that’s all, thanks stormy.”  
“Um… okay then? And uh, hey dad?”  
Patton looked up to meet his gaze and matched Virgil’s small smile.  
“Yeah, kiddo?” he said in a small voice, fearful that if he spoke too loud he would shatter this reality and re-enter the nightmare.  
“I don’t know what happened but if it makes you feel any better, I love you no matter what, okay?”  
“Thanks Virgil,” he secretly teared up in an overlapping amount of emotions, “I love you too.”  
As Virgil put his headphones back on, they exited the room and Remus closed the door. Next they went to the one room Remus was not excited to visit: his brother’s. His brother was always known to be grouchy around him because… well Remus didn’t really know why but when Roman was awoken from sleep he was even more grouchy. Remus was prepared to face the worst side of Roman because he knew who he was doing it for. Now to be fair, Remus was over exaggerating this, well a little bit. He knocked on the door in a pattern that he and Roman had made to communicate when they were little. It was a simple pattern but it worked every time to inform the twins that each other was at the door.  
“What?” Roman yelled drowsily and Remus and Patton entered his room. It was completely dark inside except for the stunning silver moonlight that illuminated Roman’s face. He was clearly awake, propped up on his elbows as he lay on his bed, but his eyes were covered with a very Roman eye mask.  
“Don’t overreact dear brother, I’m just here to prove that you’re alive and well.”  
“Prove?” Roman took off the mask and let his eyes adjust to the dark, “prove to whom? Oh, Patton, what are you doing up? Please don’t tell me you watched two movies with Remus! That's way too late you should be sleeping. Hah, listen to me, sounding just like you now dear padre.”  
Patton had held back his tears for too long and now they burst forward. When seeing Roman’s face all he could see was his dead body from the nightmare, the image plagued his mind and he was so scared and relieved at the same time to see Roman. It was so confusing.  
Seeing Patton burst to tears, his princely instinct kicked in. He sat up and motioned for Patton to come over. He did and Roman immediately wrapped him in his warm blanket and a strong hug. He put Patton’s head on his chest and soothingly rubbed his head, letting his tears soak into his chest.  
“I’m okay, it’s okay, everyone is safe.”  
As Roman comforted Patton he shot a what-did-you-do look at Remus. Remus, being innocent for once, tried to show a face of it-wasn’t-me-at-least-intentionally-this-time-I-swear. He wasn’t sure if the message got across but he did his best. Roman seemed to at least understand that he was helping and not harming and eased up a bit on him. Patton calmed down and Roman let go of the hug. Patton got to his feet and chuckled.  
“Sorry for the waterworks show, I-uh… guess I am a bit sleep deprived.”  
“No need to apologize to me,” Roman smiled, glad to be a hero, “if you ever need me you can always come in.”  
There was a pause in the conversation as the two smiled, enjoying the happy, loving moment. Roman then turned to his brother who was waiting by the door, leaning against the wall and pretending he wasn’t listening.  
“Now you on the other hand,” Roman pointed at him sharply, “you don’t have the free pass, so leave, I need some quality beauty sleep and you two better do the same!”  
With that he put his mask back on and cuddled back into his blanket, sleeping. Remus and Patton left the room and closed the door with a soft click. As they walked to Janus’ room Patton spoke up.  
“Hey Remus, thank you for doing this.”  
“No big deal dear Patton, it gives me something to do” Remus brushed it off casually but Patton stopped walking and grabbed Remus’ hand making him halt and turning to face him.  
“No, I mean it. For real. This is so much more than I came for. I know you didn’t expect me to come to you, that I’d go to someone else for comfort. I don’t know exactly why I did it myself to be honest. I just, I feel like I can trust you, that you won’t judge me and you’d be honest to me about your opinion. That if you could help me, you would and I guess that’s why. You really went the extra mile to comfort me tonight and it is a big deal for me so seriously, thank you.”  
Patton smiled at him, he looked so beautiful in the moonlight that fell on him through the window. His damp golden hair stuck to his face like honey, his soft, round, youthful cheeks shone with happiness, even his tear stained eyes sparkled. Making Patton happy gave Remus a friend. By being nice, people liked him, and came to him for comfort. He wanted to feel this feeling more and more. He decided he wanted to feel this good feeling again tomorrow. And then the next day and the next. Until he always felt this way! For now though he went to a room of comfort for him. One he trusted and was always able to go to. Janus’ room. Opening the door instead of knocking was something he had always done so he did it again in hopes that Janus would recognize it’s him.  
“Janus? Are you awake?”  
“No, I am very much asleep right now.”  
“Well, um… you’re not feeling possessed right now right? Cause if you are we’d like to know.”  
Janus turned on his lamp and laughed.  
“Possessed? As you can tell I am very much possessed right now. Remus you should be sleeping, why are you out of bed? Why did you bring Patton along with you? Don’t get me wrong, I love these late night conversations because they so make sense and are truly worthwhile but why must we talk about possession right now?”  
“Remus, what if this is how it all starts? With Janus being possessed and than killing people and then and than-”  
“No, no, no Patton it’s okay. Janus was being sarcastic… it’s kinda his thing. Trust me he’s fine. I’d know if something was up. Right Janus?”  
“Ugh… fine, fine. You’ve caught me. I am not a possessed killer but you better leave me before I do become one!” Janus teased as Remus laughed and hurried Patton and himself out of his room. Remus linked arms with Patton and walked him back to his room.  
“See, everyone’s fine. It was just a nightmare probably caused by the movie. Nothing more than that. Now you can sleep soundly and when you wake up in the morning you’ll see everyone up and well.”  
“Yeah,” Patton agreed, leaning on Remus’ shoulder as they walked together. “You’re right.”

With Remus’ help Patton got all tucked into bed, nightlight by his side and a sea of stuffed animals surrounding him like a shield. Remus sat on a small chair beside his bed promising not to leave his side and to protect him while he slept. As Patton fell asleep Remus counted the stuffed animals to pass the time. One particular one on the bed stood out to him the most: the green dinosaur plushie. It was a gift Remus had given to him after he won it at a carnival. Everyone thought he had given it to him so he could one up Roman’s gift and he didn’t deny that. His first intention, however, was for it to show his appreciation of Patton. How he spent time with Remus and stood up for him, it was a gift to show Patton his gratitude. He didn’t expect Patton to think much of it, he had so many other stuffies why would his matter? But seeing it in the stack it made him believe, at least for a fraction of a second, that maybe he could belong in the group, just like his dino was in the pile, he could fit in and be a part of something like the others were. He didn’t focus on this thought for long because his mind was taken over by a heavy cloud of sleep which he let seep through. He slept the night away by Patton’s side dreaming of being part of a team, dreaming he belonged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally didn't get emotional while writing this. Looking for new ideas if anyone's willing to give me a prompt :)


	5. Amusement Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adventures of the sides as they enjoy a full day of amusement park fun. From rides to games to houses and food. A lot of laughs, angst, and heartwarming moments!

Life for the sides had been quite busy recently. They were all stressed and overworked. Saying they were tired was an understatement. That is how they ended up all taking the day off together to relax and recharge. After a refreshing morning nap, they all got ready for the fun day ahead of them. They were going to an amusement park! Filling the car with snacks and sweaters, they all piled into the vehicle. Logan took the driver’s seat, and Janus claimed shotgun. The other four piled into the back, quite squished together. They needed to upgrade the car soon.  
They all got buckled in, and Logan started the car. Janus was in charge of all the supplies. He had directions and snacks. The one thing he didn’t have was music control. That was Roman’s department. Once they were all settled in, the music debate of listening to Cardi B or Eminem was settled by Logan, saying to put on Thomas’ songs. They all thought that was the best idea. Janus handed them their snacks to sustain them until carnival food. Remus and Virgil got Goldfish and grape juice, while Patton and Roman got animal crackers and apple juice boxes. Once the twins swapped their juice boxes, as they always did, Janus gave each of them a t-shirt in their respective colour. Curious, they unfolded the shirts to see the text on the front: If lost, return to Logan and Janus. Embarrassed, Roman spoke up.  
“Oh come on! Why do we need these? We’re like the same age as you guys. Also, no one is going to know who you are, so how could they return us to you?”  
“I’m not sure Roman,” Patton replied with excitement, “I think the shirts are fun.”  
“You may be our age physically, but mentally? Not so confident about that,” Janus teased, showing Roman his and Logan’s shirt that said I am Janus, and I am Logan, “See, now they will know.”  
Knowing he lost the fight, Roman huffed as he cupped out his hand, and Janus filled it with more crackers.

Pulling into the park's parking lot, they all gasped at the extraordinary sight. It was huge. The roller coaster was the most attention-grabbing. It was so big and tall that part of it went over the parking lot. Getting out of the car, Virgil jumped at the unsuspecting sound of screams above from the roller coaster cart going by. They all rolled up to the entry booth in their matching t-shirts, and Janus had never felt so cool. Man, he was becoming a mom.  
They entered the park with green entry wristbands, and Remus laughed victoriously at them.  
“Hah, I win today, losers!”  
Logan pulled out his schedule and then compared it to the large map.  
“Alright, to get in everyone's favourite parts of the park in the time we have, then I suggest we go in a circle. Starting on the left, go to every section until we reach right back here.”  
He pointed to the park zones on the map; the rides, booth games, food, and walkthrough houses. I suggest we go in the order of rides, snacks, booth games, walkthrough houses, then dinner and home. Does that work?”  
They all nodded in agreement, for the plan was perfect. Logan’s plans were always perfect, so it was no surprise. They headed into the rides zone, practically skipping there due to the excitement.  
They spent the most time in this area to Remus’ delight. He lived for the fast rides. The wind through his hair, the exhilaration, the screams of others paired with his maniacal laughter. It was all he ever wanted. He and Patton were partners for the rides, which he loved because Patton had the best reactions. He never hid his fear or excitement. It made Remus laugh with delight how free he felt here. They went on every ride at least twice, running from ride to ride to beat the other groups there. The first round of rides was a delight for the pair, laughing so hard their sides ached in endorphins. The second round wasn’t as pleasant. Patton was more reserved and seemed nervous to get on the rides, and sometimes Patton would close his eyes throughout parts. Even though Remus was still living in the rush and thrill of it all, he knew Patton wouldn’t last much longer down this path. He was getting motion sick. With a heavy heart, Remus took his partner out of the tilt-a-whirl line and over to his parents (whoops, my finger slipped, I meant Logan and Janus ;) ).  
“Janus! Terrible news! My partner is cursed with motion sickness and can not go on any more rides! What am I to do? How am I to ride every ride thrice in the time it takes for the other two to ride them twice? I am partnerless. I need a partner and quick!”  
“Tell you what,” Janus reassured him, “You ride the rides solo as long as I can see you.”  
“Really?!”  
The joy Remus got from even more freedom was not masked well.  
“Really… quick, go! What are you standing around for? Each second is another ride lost in your competition!”  
Remus ran back in line as quickly as he could, making sure to wave in line at Janus, and Janus returned it with a thumbs up each ride he went on. Patton sat down beside Logan, who had claimed the perfect bench. Guaranteed 360-degree shade no matter how the sun moved, stain-free, sturdy, and far enough out of the way from the crowd as to not have anyone trip over their feet or ruin their vibe. Yes, Logan does vibe-checks each place he goes to because he is cool like that. Janus sat down on the other side of Patton and handed him a cool water bottle to take small sips out of, along with a few saltine crackers. They sat in silence, watching the crowd walk by and people flailing on the rides. Logan and Janus had small conversations here and there about random things. Like Logan’s wonder about how they test rides without human casualties and Janus being strangely knowledgeable about the topic. Patton didn’t listen or contribute to the conversation, for he was too into the zone. Not focusing on anything, staring at the ground and sipping water while he let the green colour drain away from his face.  
Roman ran by them, dragging Virgil unwillingly with him, waving. Confusion registered on his face, and he u-turned back over to them. Making Virgil halt and stumble his way back too.  
“What is going on? Why is my brother not with his partner? Where did he go?”  
“It's fine, Patton had to take a break, so I let Remus go on his own,” Janus answered.  
“Alright,” Roman replied, unconvinced he looked at the group, but their expressions didn’t help much.  
Roman continued with his partner, leaving the group behind. They headed towards the small train. Roman loved the slow rides, although he would tell the others it was Virgil’s idea. I mean, no one would question that. He knew everyone pinned him for the brave, fast-ride type of guy, but he enjoyed the moments where he could take in his surroundings and have good conversations with others, and slow rides let him do that.  
After having a wonderful conversation with his emo about if a guy was more attractive with a button-up shirt or crop top, the small train came to a halt, and they had to get off the ride. Struggling to get out of the small seats, their one shared brain-cell eventually figured it out. Suddenly Remus passed by them. A grin Roman knew only too well twisted across his face. This could not be good.  
“Heard a rumour that the bumper cart line was getting shorter,” Remus said casually. Virgil’s head perked up, and excitement shone in his eyes, the eyeshadow turning purple. Oh great, Remus wanted to steal Virgil from him, so rude and unfair! He wasn't going to stop Virgil from going, but he didn’t want to be left behind either.  
“Bumper Cars… are you suggesting that I can throw all my built-up rage at you in a completely acceptable way?” Virgil played along.  
“And no one would even know,” Remus said coolly, convincingly, practically flirting with Virgil. How could he be so cruel to Roman! Speechless, he couldn’t even find a way to argue a response before Remus and Virgil ran off together towards the bumper car line. Before they’re out of earshot, Roman desperately yells.  
“Why are you guys leaving me? I’m being stood-up! By Gerrard Gay and my evil wanna-be-me twin brother! Come on! Am I dreaming?”  
“Roman, you’re a prince,” Virgil turned around and lovingly rolled his eyes when he saw the betrayal on Roman’s face, “just find another prince and woo him to hang out with you. There must be plenty around this place. It is packed!”  
With that, they disappeared into the sea of people. Roman couldn’t believe it. He was alone and betrayed! Why did this always happen to him! He sulkily sulked his royal sulky self back over to the group. Leaving behind his betrayers.  
Walking up to Logan, Janus, and Patton, he noticed how much brighter the mood was now. They were all laughing together while looking at the camera screen. Huddled together on the bench, they all seemed comfortable and relaxed with each other. Patton is in the middle, holding the camera. He leaned against Janus when he laughed, and Logan had to lean further to keep seeing the screen. Amidst the laughter, Patton looked up long enough to make eye contact with Roman, motioning him over to join them, but not long enough to notice the exposed sadness Roman wore at that moment. Being a strong and well-mannered prince, he brushed aside his feelings and joined the others, putting on his smile.  
“Roman, Roman, Roman!” Patton said quickly and full of excitement that he arrived, “look at these!”  
“Wait, what are you looking at?” Roman said before gasping. Instead of vocalizing, Patton grabbed his hand and pulled the prince down to sit between him and Logan on the bench. His face immediately burned with embarrassment when he saw the camera. They had found ancient photos from their childhood. The one displayed was when they were of preschool age. Roman and Logan were covered in mud because they had fought over Thomas’ attention. While during that time, Thomas was picking dandelions with Patton to make the largest possible bouquet.  
“Ugh, these are so embarrassing! Why are you looking at them?”  
“There are so many forgotten memories in these pictures,” Patton smiled, “For example… take this group photo from the 19th birthday.”  
It was taken in the living room when they had a spa party. They were all wearing drippy facial masks and painted each other's nails. Footbaths were on the ground, and Roman could still remember the smell of fresh naan bread and smoothies, being overpowered by nail polish. So much glitter and too many dreams.  
“Oh wow, I forgot about this birthday!” Janus said, bringing Roman out of his recollective daydream.  
“Let's take a photo now! To remember this day.” Patton initiated. He put the camera in selfie mode, and Roman adjusted his hair.  
“You too, Logan,” Patton said.  
Logan, who was even further from the camera now, had lost interest. He was looking over his planner and consulting the map. Slowly he put them down and scooted over, unenthused. Now that they were all in the frame, they smiled, waiting for the click. Just as Patton pressed the button, Roman swiped Janus’ hat and Janus, surprised, tried to quickly get it back. Laughing, Roman tossed the hat back, excited to see the silly photo. Looking at it made Roman and Patton giggle. Roman looked all smug while wearing the hat, Patton was looking at Janus with a face of shock, Janus angrily failed to swipe the hat back, and Logan concentrated hard to make a natural-looking smile.

They had finally made it. Twenty minutes of waiting in a sun-beaming, hands-sweaty, mom’s spaghetti, line. They were at the front of the bumper kart lineup. Virgil had never been so excited to be in a crowd of people before. Usually, he’d be full of anxious thoughts, but this was different. In this setting, there were rules, and everyone was so focused on driving they didn’t care about anyone else. It was perfect. Virgil could focus on smacking Remus senseless, if he had any sense to begin with, instead of blending into the crowd. Remus grabbed his cold hand, thawing it immediately and pulled him forward. The gate had been opened, and it was their turn to pick a car. Virgil watched as Remus went for the shiny new car with green racer stripes. He wiggled around in the seat until he got comfortable and rubbed his hands up and down the wheel as if he needed to wear it in. With a glimmer of joy in his eyes, he told Virgil he was going to destroy this new beauty. Virgil opted for the beat-up black car. The underdog car. He knew this car was no one's first choice, and he pitied for it. He carefully climbed into the car, as if it would break under his touch. The interior was as sturdy as ever. It was a deceptive car... he related. This car felt like an extension of himself, and he loved that. The timer counted down, and the electrical sparks started to buzz on the roof. He made eye contact with Remus, just as the buzz to begin went off. Maneuvering was involved, but Virgil knew who had to be his first hit.

Leaving the bumper car zone took a hot minute. It was hard to make any progress when you kept walking in circles. Their bodies vibrated, the impact of the hits not yet worn off. By the time they found the group, they were able to walk in a straight line again, and their vision became steady. Remus sat down on the bench, smiling super wide. It was the happiest Virgil had seen him in a while. It was probably the most social interaction he had in a long time. This setting was also totally his vibe. Looking at him, he gave off serotonin and dopamine like it was a yard sale. Patton, full of his usual oxytocin, gave Virgil a soft hug and large puppy dog eyes, and now, whatever Patton said, he had to reply with yes.  
“Virgil, Virgil, Virgil! Guess what? Nevermind guessing I’ll tell you that Janus found out there is a bouncy castle around here, and we have to go on it!” Patton spoke at rapid-fire speed. He was ecstatic about this, “C’mon please say yes. It’s going to be fun~”  
“Yes, we must go right away! That sounds wicked,” Virgil tried to match Patton’s tone of excitement. He then looked over to Janus, who suggested the idea and realized he did it in hopes he could come along. But being the snakey boi he was, wasn’t bold enough to say anything outright. So Virgil helped him out, “Hey, um Jan? Please join us? To uhh... Hold our shoes? You know, kids love to steal them, and I really… love… my shoes… heh.”  
“Oh, yay… aha I am so not interested, but I guess I could since you want me to.”  
Janus smiled, knowing Virgil read him too well. Out of all the sides, Virgil was the most observant. Well, some would debate Logan, but even if he was observant, he lacked the emotions to understand what he observed to help others out. That’s why he loved this emo boy. They headed to the bouncy castle, and the two absolute children flung their shoes at Janus and jumped into the house. Not even bothering to say thanks or bye. He was sure they would be thankful afterwards, so he peacefully let them go to have fun as he collected the shoes. Those two were polar-opposites in almost every way. Patton, with his ankle-length sky blue converse. Covered in paintings of clouds and held together by bubblegum pink laces, they were not hard to spot. Virgil sported deep black platform sneakers covered in chains, buckles, spikes, and sewn-on patches. They were also easy to find because of how extra they were. But even by just looking at their shoes, you can predict their personality instantly.  
Getting bored with standing in the beating sun waiting, he pulled out his camera. It was small and sleek, a basic-silver Nikon. He considered fiddling with the buttons but determined that by doing so, he’d mess up the settings, and he’d gone to Logan too many times for technical help, the thought of facing him again felt like an ultimate shame. It was safer to leave it. Instead, he decided to take some pictures of Patton and Virgil having fun. He walked around the bouncy castle until he found an open area covered by mesh. He spotted the two instantly. Apparently, the shirts were useful.  
Taking cute shots of them holding hands, laughing, falling, helping each other up. It was adorable. Janus considered getting their attention so they’d look at the camera, but there were too many people inside, and it would be hard for them to hear him yell. Somehow though, without saying a word, he caught eyes with Patton, who waved to him. Janus waved back. He watched as Patton then pointed him out to Virgil, who also waved to him. Janus waved back, prepping his camera. Virgil shook his head furiously and waved him to join them while exaggeratedly mouthing “idiot”. Janus made a face of offence while putting down his camera, bag, and the boy’s shoes. He quickly slipped off his shiny black loafers and ran in to join them. Getting inside was such a struggle that he toppled over the boys when trying to stand. They had so much fun laughing obnoxiously, making faces and gently knocking each other over (which is all it took in a bouncy house) that they totally did not stay past their one hour ticket.

Logan knew it was snack time. He could tell by their body language: slow movements, intently watching people with food pass by and their lack of excitement for the rides. The group was worn out of the rides. He declares with no enthusiasm (obviously, do you guys know who he is?) that it is time to buy snacks. They followed their noses, leading them to the canteen. It was easiest if Logan ordered the whole thing because he spoke clearly and concisely; they learned that through many painful experiences. It was like he was a parent of five children. He remembered one unfond memory of when he took them all out to a restaurant; why Logan thought that was a good idea, he will never know.  
They were sitting on dark brown leather booths surrounding in a u-shape on their small wooden-planked square table. The light brown walls are covered with pictures and paintings of cattle and produce. The yellow lighting and smell of chicken surrounded Logan. It was a western restaurant. It was a newly opened small restaurant that seemed quite friendly and promising. So needless to say, he will never come back here after the embarrassment of what happened. He strategically placed himself between Roman and Patton while Janus was between Remus and Virgil. Patton and Virgil sat next to each other because their personalities balanced quite well together when in public. The twins were at opposite ends of the table. The tension between the twins was inevitable, so keeping them separated was the best way to prolong the inevitable. Of course, Remus had to start flicking paper balls he made from his straw wrapper at Roman’s face. He did it because Roman was the most reactionary. Patton and Virgil began to play a hand-clapping game that gave Logan a headache. He already wanted to go home even though they had not even gotten the menus yet. When they did get menus, they were pages long. Logan knew this would not end well. Virgil began to get anxious at the overwhelming amount of choices, and Patton struggled to concentrate on the menu. Remus only wanted dessert. Janus only seemed interested in the wine menu, and Roman could not find anything he wanted to eat. Logan wanted to order a room-for-one to go. To shorten the tale, Roman and Remus argued to the point where Janus had to cover Remus’ mouth so he wouldn’t blurt-out any more obscene imagery to strangers. If they knew Remus, they’d understand why Janus did what he had to, but to strangers, it did not look good. Patton tried to calm down Roman. Logan noticed Virgil start to have an anxiety attack. In a fluster of frustration, he slammed his fist on the table and told everyone to go back to the car. Logan wrote an apology on a napkin and left $10 under his empty cup. He drove them home; the whole car silent. Once home Logan was too fed up with them and went straight to his room. He paced back and forth, wishing everyone could just be more civilized! A little while later, Patton tentatively came into his room to drop off the leftover stir-fry they had made. That was the last time they went out to eat as a group.  
On “better” occasions, they would behave. Virgil always mumbled to the waiter, making it barely audible to anybody what he wanted. Roman always flirted with the waiter, Patton was too indecisive and panicked, Remus never cooperated, and Janus ordered the same thing as Logan. That’s why Logan did the ordering for the group. It was easier, calmer, and no one died. He quickly placed their order and returned to the picnic table while balancing three plastic trays. Remus, Roman, and Virgil all got fries and slushies. Janus got onion rings, and Patton got cotton-candy. Logan ordered himself an iced coffee to survive the rest of the day. The moment of silence while they ate was shocking to Logan. Of course, it only took Remus a few seconds to break it. He grabbed an onion ring and examined it carefully. Everyone watched his movements, for they were curious. Remus bit into the ring, taking the breading off the onion and letting it flop onto his fingers. He smiled, satisfied.  
“Janus, I’ve figured it out,” Remus stifled a laugh, and Janus sighed, waiting for the punchline, “you like these onion rings because these onions are slimy! Like a snake.”  
He whispered the last line like it was some big secret. Although the joke received a lot of laughs, it also got a smack upside the head from Janus.  
“Jerk,” Janus smiled.

It was booth time! Roman’s favourite. This was his time to shine. He loved to impress others and win prizes. It was the look of wonder, joy, and thankfulness they would bear when he gave them the prize. That he adored. Roman was so good at booth games he couldn’t remember a time when he lost one. He took a big stretch, cracking his knuckles, to show he was warmed-up for the event. He grabbed a handful of gold game tokens from Logan, and grinned from ear to ear.  
“Today’s going to be a winning day, I can feel it,” Roman declared to the group as if he was giving a speech before the battle, “the sun is warm, the air is fresh, my senses are focused, and the booth-people have just restocked for me. Just you wait, I’m going to impress you all!”  
With that, Roman ran off towards the booths. The warm wind lets you know it is summer, but autumn is just around the corner. It would ripple his hair. He leaped in his steps, moving in the most joyfully-fast way. He would start at ball toss, he decided, because he always started with ball toss. The man running the booth was older in age but had a smile that showed he had lived a happy life. Roman wondered if he’d have that smile. Stepping up to the booth, he poked a bit of fun,  
“Hello, good sir! May I take part in your ball toss challenge?”  
“Why, of course, young man, one token please.”  
The older man gave Roman his biggest prize after being blown away by Roman’s performance. Not once did he miss! Roman took the oversized, red, stuffed bear and gave it a big hug. It was good quality. Soft, comforting, yup! Definitely something he could muffle his cry into late at night. He ran over to the others, who all just stared in disbelief. He gave it to Janus to hold on to. Janus sighed as he headed to drop it off in their car because there was no way it would fit in the stroller.  
Roman proceeded to go from booth to booth, not acing it like that first round, but always winning. He made sure to win at least one prize for everyone. To show Roman cared for all of them. At the bottle-knocking booth, he won a pen for Logan, who smiled gratefully and put it in his pocket. Logan liked useful, boring things. So Roman opted for the pen over the plush. Stepping up to the balloon and darts stand was a walk in the park for him because every time he aimed the dart at a balloon, he just imagined Remus’ face stamped on them. It was a great motivator. He gave that prize to Remus. Driven by brotherly love, he threw it at Remus’s face. Catching it and looking at the prize with disgust, Remus chucked it into the stroller. Roman had won Janus one of those sticky hand slappers. He thought Janus might find it funny but then felt guilty because he knew those prizes never worked after the third slap. They got all dirty and lost their stick. He hoped Janus would understand his intention. Janus took the sticky hand with a smile and eyebrow raise. He was amused, good. Roman found Patton mesmerized, watching the ducks in the pond game. (quack) He won Patton his own rubber ducky, which Patton adored, running around with it like they were partners in crime. All Roman needed now was a prize for his emo. He found a booth with spider plush prizes. He played that game three times so Roman could trade in his three little dragons for one black spider with purple eyes. It was exhausting work but worth it. Roman gave the spider to Virgil. Unlike Patton that would have ran off in fear, Virgil accepted the little guy with stars in his eyes. He walked up to Roman, faces an inch apart, and seemed to consider hugging him. Instead, Virgil took a step back, blushing bright, and mumbled thanks with his head low to the ground. Then he trotted off to the safety of others. Roman took a moment to collect himself before following Virgil.

Remus was not a very enchanting person. Deemed repulsive by many, he struggled to show others his love and gratitude. Of course, Janus understood him. That's why they were best friends. But Remus had bigger goals in mind. He had four others he needed to prove himself to, constantly. In fear of falling out of their favour, Remus was always on the lookout for new ways to impress people. Knowing his ideas never worked out, he took notes from the one person he could count on to woo; Roman. Yes, that ugly, self-centred, annoying bully of a brother. And he wasn’t saying that because he was jealous, even if Janus disagreed. Remus often tried to copy and imitate certain things his brother successfully did in hopes they would succeed in his favour too. At this moment, he watched as Roman bounced from booth-to-booth, showering gifts to the others and in return, they would smile and thank him. Seemed easy enough. He looked for a booth that he thought he would have a chance at. Remus found the whack-a-mole game sporting a morning star whacker. What could be more him? Liking his odds, he went all out. After a while, he won five plush dinos. Filling his arms with the cuddly little plushers, Remus reunited with his group again. Excitedly, he ran up to Janus, showing him his haul. Janus held a calmer enthusiasm but was still shocked when Remus gifted one to him and Logan. They both awkwardly held the gift, not sure exactly what to say. Although Remus knew that Logan was more excited about his gift than Romans because Logan was fascinated with dinosaurs.  
On his way to Virgil and Patton, Remus didn’t even bother to stop walking when passing Roman. Remus merely threw the prize at him as Roman earlier did the same. Walking up to Virgil and Patton, Remus held a small plush dino in each hand. Not sure who should get which one, Remus simply struck out both hands and let the two decide themselves. Patton and Virgil looked at Remus, confused. Then at each other. Polite-boy Virgil waved for Patton to have the first pick. Patton giggled at the formality and chose the green dino in Remus’s left hand. Everyone thought Remus had given it to Patton so he could one-up Roman’s prize, and he didn’t deny that. Remus didn’t expect Patton to think much of it. He had so many other stuffies, why would his prize matter? Remus and Virgil watched as Patton squished the dino, inspected it, tossed it in the air, and aggressively cuddled it.  
“It’s perfect,” Patton said.  
Toy in hand, the little hyper bug ran up to Logan and launched the dino at the stroller. As if it was a basketball net when Patton “scored” he cheered for himself. Logan, on the other hand, looked like he was about to flee for his life at the action. Recomposing himself, he took the cotton candy away from Patton. It was for everyone's safety, he would later say.  
Remus still held the last dino. Virgil returned his attention to Remus. It was now just them two. Realizing Remus was still offering the gift, Virgil quickly took it and thanked him.  
“Remus, you didn’t have to do this.”  
“Okay, maybe not Stormy. But, like, I did. And now everyone likes me more. Just look at everyone… so... happy.” Without me, he thought. He had done everything Roman did, and they still treated him the same. It changed nothing.  
“Yeah, I guess,” Virgil replied, concerned, “umm, hey Remus? Wanna head to the photo booth? I was thinking of going with Roman and Patton. But I’d love for you to tag along too.”  
“Yeah, yeah, sounds intimate.” Remus replied, distracted.  
“Eww, Remus. Stop saying those things, or I may retract the offer!”

Compared to the rest of the park, the photo booth wasn’t very popular or exciting. Which was great, for they did not have to wait in a line-up and then stressfully take a few pics as quickly as possible not to annoy others in the line. At least, that was always a concern of Virgil’s. All six are at the booth, standing around.  
“Are you guys going to get the photos from the booth, or is this supposed to be a trick?” Logan questions.  
“Haha, you’re right. I’ll go first!” Patton scrambles into the booth, then peaks his head out from the curtain, “you guys coming in?”  
“Oh, definitely,” Roman answers, motioning for the other two to go ahead of him, and Remus gets in, “Virgil, you coming?”  
“Yep, what’s the rush?”  
Before he steps in, Remus cuts in.  
“Virgie, you’re not gonna take photos with that spider, are you?”  
“I, uh…”  
Roman looks directly at Virgil, and he can’t read Roman’s face. Patton jumps.  
“Spider! Virgil has a spider! Virgil, don’t be so cruel. Do you know how scary they are?”  
“Patton, it’s not a live spider.” Logan clarifies.  
“Still, it’s a spider…” Patton mumbles.  
“Yeah, no. Don’t worry Pat, I’m not bringing it in. I totally forgot I was still holding onto it.” Virgil lied. He was too embarrassed at the moment and gave it to Logan before scrambling into the booth. Janus gave him a look of disappointment because he knew Virgil lied. He couldn’t dare to look at Roman. They took chaotic photos. Virgil knew Patton would inevitably put them in one of his many scrapbooks. Virgil stuffed the photos in his hoodie pocket. Something of his friends he could always keep close to himself. Roman removed Patton from the booth. He buzzed with the insane amount of sugar he inhaled from his cotton candy “lunch”. Passing by Virgil, Roman gave him a look of disappointment, as if he rejected Roman through his earlier embarrassment. Virgil ran out of the booth after Roman.  
“Roman, wait, please!” Virgil called out.  
Roman turns around, his hair swishing in slow motion, holding Patton’s hand and a neutral expression plastering his face. He raises an eyebrow in response to hearing his name.  
“I’m sorry for upsetting you, Roman.” Virgil freaked.  
“Virgil,” Roman laughed, “I’m not upset. Sure, I’m an over-reactor, but honestly, I’m not mad at you for something as petty as that. Please, I’m better than that.”  
“Oh, well, overthinker, haha. If you’re sure.”  
“Yeah, I am,” Roman said sincerely.  
Virgil was relieved but was silently cursing himself for being so foolish. Of course, he put together assumptions with no proof. Roman grabbed onto Virgil’s hand with his empty one. With Virgil in one hand and Patton in the other, Roman led them to the mirror house.

Janus wanted to bring cheer to Logan. He had been standing around all day and didn’t seem to be having any fun. Of course, Logan said he wasn’t interested in rides, but there were more ways to have fun than rides. If Janus knew Logan well, and he believed he did, Janus knew that Logan loved to learn. And loved to share his learnings. If Janus asked Logan to explain how something worked, it would bring stars to his eyes, full of excitement.  
“Hey Logan, tell me how space suits work.”  
“Well, sure… so a bit of background, you understand how the atmosphere of outer space differs from ours, right? It is cool, actually!”

The trio entered the mirror house. Roman loved the way it gave him a giant head, or, like, long legs and a tiny torso. Roman felt as if he had two toddlers with him. Patton yanking his left hand to move faster was released, to preserve Roman’s hand from being pulled off. Virgil gripped securely onto his other hand. As if relaxing his grip would make him lose Roman. Was this adorable or concerning? The clip-clap of Patton’s sneakers faded out. Virgil’s hand left Roman’s, and the clip-clap of Virgil’s shoes faded out too. He didn’t watch but assumed Virgil chased after Patton. Roman had his eyes glued on the mirrors. It was a small hallway, a sliver interior shining red from the coloured lights lining the crease where the wall connected with the ceiling. The light bulbs were big, and so were the mirrors, making the room feel smaller than it probably was. This hallway was empty and quiet, for it was just Roman inside. One particular mirror caught his attention. It was a full-body mirror, and it wasn’t distorted at all. Or was it? Roman couldn’t tell, which made him feel worse. The reflection showed him a small, slim boy. His red-reflecting hair was frizzy yet greasy. Roman ruffled his hair, only making the frizz worse. His skin was dull, and he should have worn make-up. Should he work out more? His body showed weakness. Was it the fries? Roman knew he shouldn’t eat like that. His feet were too small, and his nose was too big. Maybe the shirt filled him out? He could tie it with an elastic to make it smaller.  
A sharp pang shot up from Roman’s toe, making him wince and squat down to hold the injury. His foot had made contact with the metal wall. After a few moments of rocking back and forth, he stood up again. He realized how close he had gotten to the mirror. His face was inches away. He didn’t remember getting this close. He also didn’t remember beginning to cry, but he was. It was silent tears. Hot, raw pain, dripping quickly down his face. Collecting at his chin until it was too heavy and it would fall onto his shoe. He just watched his left shoe get more and more soaked. A microscopic puddle forming at the toe. His eyes got itchy, and he felt dry inside, but somehow the tears still came. Roman didn’t understand why he was crying. It may have started from the pain in his toe, but it became much more than that. Was he frustrated at himself? Or the world? Was he ashamed of himself?  
The silence of the hallway was no more. Footsteps grew louder, and Roman looked up. He made eye contact with Virgil and quickly broke it. Virgil couldn’t see him when he was weak.  
“You’re crying,” Virgil said in a whisper.  
Virgil was right beside him now. His eyes scanning all over Roman, his concern was obvious.  
“Whoop-de-doo, Sherlock, you nailed that case!” Roman retorted.  
Silence followed, and Roman relaxed a bit. The tears stopped falling, but a wall of them on his eyelids blurred his sight. Virgil didn’t press on the conversation and was just there for him. After a bit of time, Roman opened up.  
“Do you ever look in a mirror and see everything you don’t want to see. Every time I look in a mirror, I see a flaw, after flaw, after flaw. My imperfections, I can point out so easily. The whole world probably sees them too... I just hate my reflection! What a hero, huh, I can’t even save myself! How could others ever look up to me?”  
“Every mirror in this house has the same job,” Virgil grabbed Roman’s hand, securely gripping it, “to make us inspect our reflection. It shows us different versions of ourselves, none of them accurate. Even this mirror is flawed. No one sees beauty in a mirror. We see it through the human eye. We should see our reflections like a relationship. We start a distance from the mirror, getting a general idea of the person. The more trust and love we build, the closer we get to the mirror. We start to see the imperfections of the person now that we’ve gotten closer, but does that make us love them any less? No. We accept them. No one is perfect, cliche, I know. Sometimes when you get too close to the mirror and see all your flaws, try taking a few steps back to see your overall beauty.”  
Roman pulled Virgil in for a hug. Tears may have been shed, thanks may have been exchanged, what is known is that they swayed in that embrace, back and forth for a few meaningful moments.

On their way to the haunted house, Janus fell in love. They were waiting in line, and Janus had put on his shades and wished he had an iced coffee with him. A voice called out his name. A deep voice, one you could find comfort in. One you could securely fall asleep to.  
“Janus? Excuse me, but are you, Janus, like your shirt says?”  
Turning around in slow motion, Janus looked upon this absolute piece of art. It had to be illegal. This man was beautiful. Slow, sexy music played. His vision had a border of pink hearts, and sparkles flew across his “screen”. Janus felt like he was in a dating sim. This man had soft chestnut locks that fluttered over his face. His build was tall and fit, making his tank-top stretch nicely over his abs. His green eyes sparkled with a youthful energy that contradicted his mature voice and build. This man was wearing a deep maroon tank top, white shorts, sandals without socks, a watch and earbuds that seemed to be more an accessory than of use.  
Maybe he had become delusional from the heat, but Janus swore that this man had just winked at him. Janus’s heart swooned, and he decided that this man was named Eddie and that Eddie and Janus were gonna get married, he was gonna take Janus out of this sun patch. They would sit together on a shaded bench sharing ice cream.  
Heartbreakingly so, this would not be the case. Janus, in his moment of gay panic, spluttered out the most basic and un-flirtatious response he could have said at that moment.  
“Uh, yeah I am. What do you want?”  
“Oh, um… sorry, it’s just the shirt says that if lost, return to Logan and Janus and your shirt says you are Janus…”  
“I know that... why are you telling me this?”  
“It’s just that…”  
“You totally didn't forget Remus, if that is what they were worried about,” Remus said in a mock-Janus impression as he fronted from behind Eddie.  
“Oh, um thank you! Wow, I didn’t even notice, haha, that’s embarrassing.”  
“It’s alright,” Eddie chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck, “children are hard to deal with. I had a lot of younger siblings to deal with growing up.”  
“I- he’s not- they’re not my-” flustered and embarrassed, Janus was upset that Eddie thought these were his kids, he didn’t look that old! Did he? It was too late. Eddie was gone. His romantic moment ended with a pile of word vomit and no connection.

Logan refused to go into the haunted house but insisted Janus go and have fun. As to make sure Janus didn’t feel guilty, he suggested that by going Janus could keep an eye on Remus. Who on multiple occasions would be removed from the park after entering a haunted house. Something about them triggered Remus into going wild. He would act like he was one of the haunters and make people cry, even adults. When entering the house, Janus pulled Remus aside to set in place the rule.  
“Remus, if you are going to take part in the haunted house experience, you must not scare the people. Understood? You are not a scarer. You are here to experience the walk-through house. Okay?”  
A smile smeared onto Remus’s face, and Janus knew he had found a loop-hole.  
“Okay, I promise. However, the rule doesn’t restrict me from scaring the scarers!”  
“You got me there. If you can scare them, then go for it. Just saying, it is their job to not be scared. I’d be surprised if the scarers broke character.”  
They decided to walk in conga-formation to not lose anyone. Virgil volunteered to go in the front, Patton next, Roman was placed in the middle, then Remus and Janus securely in the back.  
Why did Virgil decide to take the lead? He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he loved haunted houses. It was one of the few places where everyone became as anxious and paranoid as him. Haunted houses were a place where it was normal to be scared.  
Entering the house it is hard to see anything at all. Spider webs coated the walls and furniture. The waiting room was covered in bookshelves and trinkets. All very historical and off. A low ambience of screams, creaks, and organ matched with a draft of cold air coming from the bookshelf got Virgil's heart rate quickening. Patton and Roman seemed to be on the same wavelength as Virgil, if not a bit more intense. Remus seemed too excited, looking around at all the details and giggling. Janus was completely unfazed, crossing his arms and tapping his foot. When the bookshelf opened, it revealed a small hallway. They assembled their conga line and went through.  
Virgil walked down a tight, claustrophobic hallway. No doors, no lights, just one direction. The temperature drop unsettled him. Virgil was glad he had his comfort hoodie with him. Taking one slow step at a time, he began to focus on his breathing. Virgil rescanned everything in his vision, yet the darkness revealed nothing. They were coming up on the first turn in the hall, and Virgil was convinced that someone was waiting around that corner. He braced himself and picked up the pace to get it over with. Power walking down the hall, head down, Virgil could only hear his steps. A hand grasped his arm right before he turned the corner, making him jump a foot in the air. He screamed and realized it was just Patton trying to keep up. Patton also screamed in reaction. A spooker jumped out at them, making them back into the wall and scream again. When the other three caught up with them, Virgil and Patton were on the floor laughing together.  
The experience, mainly, was the same throughout. Virgil and Patton freaking out together and laughing about it a second later to cope. Their vocal cords were pretty much dead, and their lungs were sore from the giggles.  
Near the end of the house, they thought they were safe. Virgil was convinced they had made it through and it was a fun success. Opening the exit door, Virgil prepped his eyes for the bright sunlight. It was no longer going to be dark and cool. It was probably the one thing he was going to miss at this house. It was not bright out; it was quite dark. Two big arms reached out from the dark and lunged at Virgil, who freaked and grabbed a-hold of Patton protectively. Inspecting closer, the arms belonged to the body of a clown, whose face was melted and leg was limp. He slowly moved towards them with a chainsaw in hand. Patton and Virgil looked at each other. The colour had drained from their face, and all that was left was fear. Emotion took over; logic wasn’t even in the house. Their flight from fright kicked in. They stumbled into Roman’s arms, who held them tight near his chest. Virgil hid his face in Roman’s body, the warmth reminding him he was safe. He didn’t open his eyes until they were out of the house.  
Roman was glad; he got to play the prince. Two damsels that he would do anything for ran to him for safety. Him. He felt so honoured. He was determined to protect them. Keeping the securely in his grasp and comfortable, he trekked forwards. Forget his fear; this clown could not hurt them. He made sure of that. His face became stone-cold, and it even made the clown take a step back in shock. That only made him feel stronger. He got the precious cargo to safety, with the help of Janus, of course. Janus was a stone wall. He blocked everyone from getting past him. No scarers would take his family from behind, no sir.  
Roman was certain that Janus didn’t get spooked once. Of course, how could he forget Remus? Remus had managed to scare the clown. Hiding behind Janus, he grabbed his morningstar and lunged in the air, screaming. The clown immediately put the chainsaw down and threw his hands in the air. This made Remus dance with joy and laugh with delight at his accomplishment.  
“Consider me, surprised,” Janus muttered to Remus, who only smiled even more.

Remus had a problem. It had been one of the most joyful days of his life, but it felt incomplete. That is because, Remus felt, his Logan just wasn’t having enough fun. This man had stood in lines, without boarding the rides; sat on picnic benches waiting; eating food and not using the energy it gave. It just wasn’t right. Logan needed to have fun. Remus was determined to provide that. The heat was dissipating, and the lines were lessening. There wasn’t much time left, so Remus had to work fast.  
Confidently walking up to Logan to take control and exude power, he grasped Logan’s forearm, pulling him along. Logan, obviously confused, stumbled a few steps and dragged his stroller behind him using his freed arm. The others, curious, quickly followed them. Remus had picked up the pace, and Logan tried to slow down by stopping. That failed. That merely led to him being dragged, so he continued to walk.  
“Remus, where are you taking me?” Logan looked around and corrected himself, “Us.”  
“We have to make the line before it gets too full. It is quite a popular ride.”  
“Ride? Remus, I have to say, if you didn’t realize, I’m not much of a “ride” person.”  
“Logan, sweet foolish Logan, this is not merely a ride. This is a ride with us. And it is the us-part that makes any ride more enjoyable. It is what makes you a ride person.”  
“Although completely illogical of an assumption, I have to admit that I have not been a very objectively fun person today. Therefore, I will accompany you all on this… roller-coaster? Remus, seriously, you chose the roller-coaster?”  
“So judgy today, teach,” Roman remarked.  
“You’re right, you’re right. Enough with the complaints. I shall have fun on a… roller-coaster.”  
Although completely dreading this moment, Logan wondered if maybe he was being as dramatic as the twins. It was just a roller-coaster. A ride that whipped you through the air like an angry kid would with a marionette doll. Maybe it was fun? The rush could be exhilarating, refreshing, laughable. If he was going to do something silly, he might as well laugh while doing it. And he did.  
The gang boarded their cart. Logan, Roman, and Remus in the front. Patton, Janus, and Virgil in the back. Logan could hear them all giggling at him. In excitement and disbelief that Logan was doing this with them. The cart slowly moved over, and Logan prepped himself. Grabbing the handlebar, squaring his shoulders, and crunching down on his teeth. The rush happened. He was flying through the air: loops, drops, being upside-down! The wind rippled his hair and dried out his eyes. It carried his voice away from him.  
The view was stunning. The sun was setting, leaving a peachy-glow on all the metal structures. A forest surrounded the park, and he could see a small pond, with a smaller family having a picnic beside the pond. They seemed peaceful. The cart yanked his vision away to the parking lot, where he located his car among many other dots of vehicles. Businesses and street lamps lit up, the car's headlights began to light-up. It was like a different world from the moment before. Electrical. Logan laughed, and he couldn’t stop. The whole ride Logan laughed, raising his hands in the air and being childlike. It was being so uncharacteristic and silly that made it fun. Remus’s tacky hand grabbed onto Logan’s dry one. Together they kept them up while descending the slope. It was too loud and fast to speak, so Remus signed to him.  
“Fun?”  
“Fun.”  
Mission accomplished.

Worn out, the sides plopped down at their favourite bench. A pile of cheeseburgers surrounded by a ring of lemonades was waiting to be devoured. They didn’t argue with that. The sun had now officially set, and the moon had centre stage. The stars were her accompaniment. A swift breeze stole the day's heat away, leaving a coolness behind. They put on their knit-sweaters for warmth. The colourfully electric lights buzzed in the background, replacing human chatter. Only a few groups of stereotypical teens kicked around. The conversation was nothing of importance, just predictable dinner-table rambles.  
“Cheeseburger, yum.” Roman sighed.  
“Okay caveman,” Virgil insulted with his storm grey eyes, that could have a look of you idiot and I adore you at the same time.  
“Lemonade… spicy,” Patton added on.  
“Spicy?” Logan questioned.  
“Lemonade’s not known to be spicy,” Janus informed  
“Said the liar.” Virgil jabbed again.  
“Boy…” Janus no longer had a comeback for that one.  
“Apparently you haven’t tried my lemonade,” Remus snickered. Janus playfully shoved him for that.  
“Sour, I meant, you know… sour.” Patton corrected himself in a slur of tiredness.  
“Yeah, we get…” Roman mumbled, zoning out while fiddling with his straw.  
“Lemonade,” Remus snickered to himself.  
“Okay!” Logan decided to take everyone home before they slept at the park, “Time to leave, let’s go to the car.”  
They all exhaustively whined but still got up as though they knew it wasn’t going to work, but they just wanted to anyway. Throwing out trash like model citizens, they collected their stuff and strolled out. Passing by the admissions booth, Roman tapped the glass, and an adorable man in a cardigan waved back at him.  
“Anytime you wanna talk, my offer still stands.” Roman winked at the guy who blushed and held up Roman’s phone number as if in confirmation.  
Virgil was speechless, “Offer? What offer? What- how-”  
“Like you said,” Roman mic-dropped, “I just found another prince and wooed him.”

In the car, they all resumed their seats. Logan and Janus in the front, the other four crammed in the back. Now with the addition of a giant stuffed bear. They decided to lay it across their laps like a blanket covering. Patton fell asleep before Logan started the car, right onto Virgil’s shoulder, who smiled while paying with Patton’s hair. When Janus saw this, Virgil defensively glared, which made Janus dramatically sigh before turning back around. Getting onto the road home, Logan and Janus conversed about how surprised they were that Remus didn’t get kicked out and that Patton didn’t get lost. Remus took no offence to this. He merely focused on pushing his back into Roman, who when startled, was assured by Remus that he just wanted to get comfortable for a nap.  
Janus and Logan continue to converse, but Logan knew that he was losing Janus to sleep. His sentences got shorter and quieter. His mutters were indecipherable. Logan let Janus ramble on until he went silent and then faded into a light snore.  
Roman, who was stuck in the middle, had a terrible view through the window. With Remus now asleep, there was no point in playing a game or starting a conversation. That could risk waking others up. He chose to snuggle into Remus, Patton, and his big red bear. He rested his eyes, and into his imagination, he flew.  
Logan and Virgil were the only ones left awake. It was very calm and peaceful when it was the two of them.  
“How much longer?” Virgil broke the silence.  
“Hmm?” Logan had been daydreaming again. He realizes that probably is bad considering he is driving.  
“Until we get back home? How much longer is the drive?”  
“I would venture about twenty more minutes,” Logan calculated, “In the meantime, would you like to play a game?”  
“Wait, I don’t think I heard you right. Did The Logan Sanders ask to play a game?” Virgil giggled in disbelief.  
“Yes, I believe he did. But if you would rather not, I am quite content to keep driving in silence.”  
“No, no, no… I’m teasing you. Of course, I’ll play. Alphabet game?”  
“Why not, I will start,” Logan decided. Looking at the town, there were bright signs everywhere. There were so many distractions downtown, including restaurant advertising, outdoor bar fights, drive-in theatres. The city was so uncivilized at night. Logan always stayed indoors for that reason. A tall building caught his attention, “A… the Apple technology company.”  
“Nice one, although let me remind you that this is a game, not a test. I know what Apple is, teach.”  
“Fine, fine. I understand. It’s your turn now.”  
B... he found the best one.  
“Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Now that should earn me extra, don’t ya think?”  
“I do admit, that is impressive. But how about Cheddar’s Casual Cafe Company?”  
“There’s no way, oh wait no, I see it. Dang-it! Good one though.”  
Virgil had to find something starting with d. Looking out the window, there were so many options: too many options. Everything was racing by too fast to process. His hands were numb, and his heartbeat raced. Virgil’s stomach woke up the butterflies inside, swirling faster now. He had to be quick. Choose an answer, but not a dumb answer. That could lead to judgement. What even was a dumb answer in a children's game? Yeah, a child’s game. It’s easy, why was it difficult? Focus! The thoughts, too many swirled unable to be processed. Virgil froze. He panicked and spluttered out stupidity.  
“I- there’s nothing. Sorry, this is really hard… for some reason. Ugh! Da- de- dang… di-”  
“Let me stop you right there. Is this game too stressful for you? It’s supposed to be fun, but you seem to not be getting the enjoyment.”  
“No, no. I mean, yeah, it is. Look I’m really sorry, it’s stupid. I freak over nothing, and it’s really embarrassing.”  
“I don’t believe so,” Logan ventured to Virgil’s confusion, “What I do believe is that this “embarrassing freak-out” is normal for you. You didn’t do it intentionally, and you’re trying your best to deal. There is nothing stupid about dealing with mental illness. It should be normalized by now. But until then, please do not apologize to me for things out of your control.”  
“Wow, Logan... thank you. Thank you for understanding. This is why I totally aspire to be like you one day.”  
Ha. Okay.”  
“No, I’m serious. You have such a pearl of vast wisdom that helps everyone. When things go out of control, you are the peacemaker. You bring everyone to their senses. You always are so confident and leader-worthy.”  
“While very ego-filling your words may be, I thank you,” Logan struggled to put his thoughts into speech, “however, I have to admit while I seem confident I assure you I am far from it.”  
“What do you mean?”  
Logan laughed a bit to himself before answering.  
“Anyone can appear confident if they want to be. Sure I am more confident with my facts backing me up and research ready to defend me. Without it? Sometimes, I feel very lonely, Virgil. Sometimes I do not know the answer. I bore and frustrate people, and it leaves me very alone. Even in crowds, I feel very out of place. I dream to feel as though I belong. Occasionally I do. With you I do. I like being with you because you understand me in ways others do not. Virgil, you understand people and comfort them. That is something I struggle to do. The way you notice the underdog, or when someone seems “off”. Those are the things that are great about you that I look up to. We all have role models. We need to think less along the lines of being like them and more along the lines of being like their best traits. Because that is why we look up to them. Their good traits. We are all human, with flaws inside. Even our role models are flawed. Everyone is different, and no matter how hard we try, we cannot be a clone of our role model. Be the best version of yourself, Virgil, and soon you’ll inspire everyone around you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is not canon (as far as I am aware) that any of the signs know ASL. However, it is my personal head-canon that Remus and Logan learned it when they were young children. It was a way for them to keep playing make-belief at night without waking the others up.  
> Also, yes the green plush dino was a reference to my previous chapter: Nightmare's Tears.  
> Also also, I am sorry for all the Roman angst. I leaned in hard this fic...  
> I hope everyone enjoyed, I know it has been a long time since I posted. This is the longest fanfic I've wrote! You are all beautiful and loved, never forget that. Take care in 2021 my lads, ladies, and non-binary daisies!!


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